Odds: Thursday – Going to hell in a hotrod.

In the New York Observer, Gabriel Sherman has a depressing piece about the current state of the Village Voice under its new ownership:The film-review budget has been cut by two-thirds, according to a source, and some film reviews are now being contributed by freelance writers from other New Times papers. According to Voice staffers, New Times has also dismissed The Voice's three-person fact-checking department and laid off two of the five copy editors. Last month, [Michael] Lacey killed interim editor Ward Harkavy’s blog, the Bush Beat. The end-page essay has been discontinued. Voice writers now have to use the New Times stylebook, and according to a source, there are words—including “meta” and “subversive”—that are now banned from the paper.[Okay, we did laugh at that last part, but only because it reminded us of when we were officially banned from referring to things "so late 90s." Anyway, hasn't "meta" entered...

In the New York Observer, Gabriel Sherman has a depressing piece about the current state of the Village Voice under its new ownership:

The film-review budget has been cut by two-thirds, according to a source, and some film reviews are now being contributed by freelance writers from other New Times papers. According to Voice staffers, New Times has also dismissed The Voice‘s three-person fact-checking department and laid off two of the five copy editors. Last month, [Michael] Lacey killed interim editor Ward Harkavy’s blog, the Bush Beat. The end-page essay has been discontinued. Voice writers now have to use the New Times stylebook, and according to a source, there are words—including “meta” and “subversive”—that are now banned from the paper.

[Okay, we did laugh at that last part, but only because it reminded us of when we were officially banned from referring to things "so late 90s." Anyway, hasn't "meta" entered the vernacular yet? Everyone we know overuses it to a distressing extent.] It’s a sad state for a paper that’s always upheld high standards, or, failing that, at least high opinions of film criticism, and a place where many major critics got their start.

In the Sydney Morning Herald, Garry Maddox lists his seven deadly sins of moviegoing etiquette, while at the Toronto Star Peter Howell‘s only semi-serious call for more drive-in theaters is a reminder of what’s great about the communal cinemagoing, particularly when the film could be considered a little…lacking.

The drive-in was the last place where anybody wanted to be distracted by a flickering screen. I’m thinking of movies like "Hot Rods to Hell" (how I wish it was available on DVD) and "The Pom Pom Girls," which I almost saw at drive-ins on hot summer nights a long time ago. The kind that has kept shlockmeister Roger Corman happily employed, adored by cults and revered by himself.

Speaking of, in the new issue of Firecracker, Erika Franklin interviews Filipino B-movie maestro Cirio H. Santiago, who directed and produced over 20 movies for Corman for international export:

Utilising the low-cost of movie-making in the Philippines, the diverse landscape (“We can fake many places here: Florida, Vietnam, South America…we have jungle, desert, beaches… it’s all here”) in addition to the pan-Asian appearance of Filipinos who could masquerade as anyone from Vietnam to Hawaii (“as long as we are wearing Hawaiian shirts, we look Hawaiian!” he jokes).

There’s also a new issue of Sight & Sound up; among the offerings online are Charles Gant‘s look at Julien Temple‘s "Glastonbury" and Robin Buss‘s rambler of a look at the love French directors have for Hitchcock that concludes with an interview between Dominik Moll (of "Lemming") and James Bell.

In the Korea Times, Bae Keun-min talks to actress Ko Hyun-jung, who, after a decade in television will make her film debut in Hong Sang-soo‘s latest, "Woman on the Beach," which began shooting last week. She doesn’t have much to say, but the article does mention this about the film:

The film features four 30-something people, who happen to meet each other at a beach and attempt to hook up. Ko will play the role of Mun-suk, a jobless female who studied film music in Germany. Actress Song Seon-mi and actors Kim Seung-woo and Kim Tae-woo have been cast in the other main roles.

In the Guardian, Mark Brown presents a list of the 50 best film adaptations (from books) of all time, according to "a panel of experts." The list is being offered up to the public, who’ll vote on which is the all-time best, and as with any of these type of things, it’s a highly debatable selection. But c’mon, no "Silence of the Lambs"? It should get points just for improving so much on the dismal, airport-paperback quality of its source material.

The latest Blog-a-Thon took place yesterday on the topic of Angie Dickinson. We direct you to Dennis Cozzalio at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule for "Big Bad Mama" ruminations and pointers to the day’s participants.

At The Reeler, S.T. VanAirsdale revisits IFC’s own "This Film Is Not Yet Rated."

Finally, the "Four Eyed Monsters"‘s dynamic duo, Susan Buice and Arin Crumley, will be appearing at the Soho Apple store next Friday to discuss their film and their podcasting.

+ Can Village Voice Make It Without Its Lefty Zetz? (NY Observer)
+ ‘Yeah, I’m at the movies’ (Sydney Morning Herald)
+ A call for drive-in revival (Toronto Star)
+ MADE IN THE PHILIPPINES: CIRIO H. SANTIAGO INTERVIEWED (Firecracker)
+ May 2006 (Sight & Sound)
+ Ko Hyun-jung to Debut on Big Screen (Korea Times)
+ Film of the book: top 50 adaptations revealed (Guardian)
+ ANGIE DICKINSON: THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR (Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule)
+ Dick, IFC Bring ‘Not Yet Rated’ to NYC Audience (The Reeler)
+ Friday, April 28th (Apple Store – Soho)